Tree of Life
"The Tree of Life" was unexpectedly revived with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Best Director. Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt were also nominated, for "The Help" and "Moneyball," respectively. Reuters

The American Society of Cinematographers announced its 2011 nominees on Wednesday, injecting some verve into Tree of Life''s otherwise idle award season approach.

Tree of Life cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki was nominated along with Guillaume Schiffman for The Artist, Jeff Cronenweth for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Robert Richardson for Hugo, and Hoyte van Hoytema for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Lubezki previously won an ASC award in 2007 for Children of Men.

Notably absent from the nominee pool are Janusz Kaminski for War Horse, Newton Thomas Sigel for Drive, and Manuel Alberto Claro for Melancholia.

According to The Wrap, parallels between the ASC awards and the Academy Awards have increased in recent years, with 21 of the 25 ASC nominated films going on to earn Oscar nominations in the last five years.

No word yet on whether an ASC miss for The Descendants will impact its Oscar odds -- Alexander Payne's family drama has been gaining ground on The Artist as the Best Picture favorite.

The ASC awards will be presented on Feb. 12 in Los Angeles, Calif.

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